ISSN 1177-7761

Volume 7 Issue 4 October / November / December 2013

Official Publication of NZBA

BONSAI TIMES

Hawkes Bay Bonsai Society CLUBS President Neil McCorkell – 06 878 7230 Contact: [email protected] Auckland Bonsai Society 18a White St, Taradale, Napier 4112 President Les Honeyfield— 09 576 7616 Meetings: 2nd Wed 7:30 Clive Community Hall, Napier

Contact: [email protected] Matamata Bonsai Club Secretary: David Radue—09 535 7907 President Graeme Hancock Contact: [email protected] Kaimai View Garden Centre SH7, Matamata Meetings: 2nd Thurs 7:30pm Auckland Horticultural Meetings: By arrangement contact Graeme Council, 990 Great North Road, Western Springs, Auck- land http://sites.google.com/site/aucklandbonsaisociety/ Manawatu Bonsai President: Greg Tuthill Avon Bonsai Society Secretary: Rachel Beaver President Beverley Van Contact: [email protected] Sec: Lyn Kennedy, 45 Claridges Road, Bishopdale, Chch 8 Rewa Street, Takaro, Palmerston North 4412 Contact:[email protected] Meetings: 3rd Wednesday 7pm PN Community Leisure- Meetings: 1st Wed 7:30 Isleworth School, Centre, 569 Ferguson Street $2 hall hire Farrington Ave, Bishopdale, Christchurch Nelson Bonsai Bay of Plenty Bonsai Society President Nigel Sutton President John Vercoe Contact: [email protected] Sec: Sue Vercoe - 07 576 4874 11 Torlesse Street, Wakatu, Stoke, Nelson 7011 Contact: [email protected] Meetings: 1st Mon 7:30 (Except Public Holidays) Meetings: Last Sunday of the month phone 07 572 4345 Nikau Gardens, 411 Nayland Rd (Summer) Stoke Hall, for details Stoke (Apr/Aug) Website: http://bonsaibop.googlepages.com/ New Plymouth Bonsai Club Inc Blenheim Bonsai Kai President Glenys Jackson – 06 753 9644 President Dave Hunt - 03 577 8679 Contact: [email protected] Contact: [email protected] 4 Waiwera Place New Plymouth 4312 7 Hale Street, Blenheim Meetings: Last Sun 2pm Royal NZ Foundation for the

Bonsai Study Group Blind, 131 Vivian, St, New Plymouth

Bob Langholm - 09 629 3662 Otago Bonsai Society Contact: [email protected]. 41 Taumata Rd, Mt Albert, President Graham Letts 034542113 Auckland. Contact Bob for details Contact: [email protected] Christchurch Bonsai Society Sec: Jan Letts 41 Ellife Place, Andersons Bay President Wendy Gibbs - 03 981 8594 Meetings: 1st Tues 7:30 Holy Cross Church Hall, Cnr Ajax Sec: Helen Bain — 03 323 4107 & Richardson St, St Kida, Dunedin Contact: helenonly@ clear.net.nz 6 Watermill Boulevard, Northwood, Christchurch 8051 Rotorua Bonsai Club Meetings: 2nd Wed 7:30 Cotswold Preschool, Colesbury President: Peter Hansen - 07 345 6339 St, Bishopdale, Christchurch Secretary: Kathryn Potts - 07 345 3521 Contact: [email protected] Eastern Bay of Plenty Bonsai Society Meetings: 2nd Sun phone for details President Colin Churchill - 07 323 7560 Contact: [email protected] South Canterbury Bonsai Society 10 Porritt Drive, Kawerau 2075 President Brian Blackwell - 03 615-8775 Meetings 1st Sunday afternoons Secretary Alyson Guthrie—03 684 5363 Phone for details Contact [email protected]

Gisborne F3 345 Church Street, Timaru 7910 Heather Deere - 06-868 9519 Meetings 1st Wed Feb/Nov 7:30pm Art Centre, Gleniti Road, Timaru Contact: [email protected]

Gore Bonsai Club Wellington Bonsai Club President Carol Graves - 03 208 6735 President: Secretary Fionna Burgess—03 236 4113 or 027 151 557 Secretary: Ken Coad Contact: [email protected] PO Box 30-621, Lower Hutt 5040 14 Frank Street, Gore Email: [email protected] Meetings: 3rd Sat 1:30 Feb/Nov Except May/June Website: www.huttcity.com/bonsai Phone for details of venue Meetings: 1st Sunday of each month except January, 1.00pm Hutt Valley Tramping Club Rooms, Birch St Hamilton Bonsai Club Reserve, Waterloo, Lower Hutt President Sandra Quintal - 07 850 8188 Contact: [email protected] Wanganui Bonsai Buddies Secretary: Gordon Bowers, PO Box 16194, Hamilton 3245 President Neil Gardner - 06 327 7720 Meetings: 2nd Sun 2pm May /Sept then 2nd Wed 7:30 Secretary: Pat Kilmister—06 345 0294 Feb/April and Oct/Dec at Glenview Community Centre, 2/8 Beckett Place, Martin Cnr Tomin Rd and Glenview Tce, Hamilton Meetings 2nd Sat 10am workshop 4th Sat 10am at Website: www.hamiltonbonsai.co.nz members home Contact Neil for details

YOUR COMMITTEE From The President

PATRON Keith Lowe MNZM the time most of you get to read this the By festive season will just about be here, President and the year has just flown by oh so quick. L Muirhead [email protected] Your NZBA committee has been very busy over the 0212458800 last few months, planning and pulling together the Secretary plans for the NZBA Convention in Cambridge in May Brian Ellis next year. I hope you are all planning to attend as I [email protected] feel it will be a fantastic weekend and also with the Second National Show. Many thanks to all who en- Treasurer tered trees. We had over 60 entries and whilst not all Noel Plowman will be accepted we will have some very good trees [email protected] there.

Committee Joy Morton Also on your planning calendar for next year is the Les Simpson BCI Convention in Surfers Paradise later in the year. Ian Gear This is a great chance to attend an international Dianne Miller convention and mix with bonsai people from all over Enquires and information: the world. Editor—Dianne Miller Summer is just around the corner. Let’s hope it is like EDITORIAL last year - a long warm hot one, but watch your bon- [email protected] sai as they can dry out and like us they need water. Telephone: 021 217 9588 or 09 401 6226 Treasurer—Noel Plowman—09 401 6226 Many thanks to Joy Morton who, from reports I have 47 Orchard Road, R D 2, had, did a fantastic demo in China representing Aus- tralasia at the recent WBFF convention. I am sure Joy SUBSCRIPTIONS will remember this for a long time, and be one of the highlights of her bonsai life. KERIKERI, New Zealand I make the plea once again for information on what is 4 Issues a year posted to your home happening in your club to be sent through to editor address NZ$20 B/W $45 Colour Dianne so we all can know how your club is doing. Overseas add $10 per year for postage Contributions are welcome. Closing dates for submissions no later than Can clubs inform members of NZBA about our great 14 days before publication—mid Feb, May, website. It is full of information on our great hobby. Aug, Nov. All correspondence addressed Clubs need to push NZBA membership so everyone can have a copy of our great magazine Bonsai Times INFORMATION which is full of knowledge and information on what is to this magazine will be regarded as for happening around NZ. publication unless clearly marked NOT FOR PUBLICATION. No part of this maga- zine may be reproduced without the written Have a great festive season permission of the publisher. Bonsai Times and start planning for Cam- accepts no responsibility for the return of bridge and I look forward to manuscripts or photography. seeing you all there. Lindsay Website: http://www.bonsainz.com/

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BONSAI TIMES brings you the inspiration, motivation and + encouragement to create remarkable bonsai

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4 Merry Christmas We have arrived at the end of another year and 2014 promises to bring a major achievement for NZBA - the convention next May. To all of you who have entered trees for selection in the national show good luck and make sure that you continue to work on them over the summer period. A bit of a challenge as I have a feeling that CONTENTS this summer is going to be hot and dry.

6 Air Layering Ends of years and the start of new ones is often a time for relax- Dawid de Villiers shares his ation and resolutions. Good luck with all your goals and plans knowledge on air layering for the new year. I trust they will include attending the NZBA Convention in May. WBFF Convention 8 My big reflection for the year is that it has been seven years now Joy Morton shares her big since taking over as editor of the Bonsai Times. It has been a demonstrators moment pleasure, most of the time, to bring this magazine to you. The support and articles were initially slow in coming but without 11 Post Convention your contributions we would not have a magazine. There are a few people I would like to acknowledge for their regular support Tour—China and contributions. First a huge thank you to Brian Ellis our sec- Brian and Marion Ellis share retary, without fail every quarter Brian has sent the latest from their experiences in China the Otago Club plus has taken the time to write several articles for our enjoyment. Others are Beverley Van, Dawid de Villiers, Is Anyone Home? Peter Mudie and Les Honeyfield. Receiving club magazines 17 which I can reprint articles from is a great way of sharing infor- Dianne Miller shares with us mation and making that contribution to the growth of bonsai in the experiences of moving New Zealand. My last big thanks goes to Ann Mudie, my sub home with bonsai editor, who without fail checks all these magazines for grammar, spelling, layout and other errors. And then last but not least is 20 Now and Then Noel Plowman, our Treasurer, who not only collects and banks A look at the before and after all your subs, but folds, addresses, stamps and posts your mag- of bonsai azine out. A job that takes just about a week. Without these contributions we would not have the magazine as we have it 22 Club News today. My apologies if I have missed anyone out from this list.

Having said all this all great things need to come to an end 28 Convention and therefore I would like to let you know that I would like to pass this job onto someone new. To keep the magazine informative and Committee News refreshing a change of hands is needed. If you are interested please advise myself or someone on the committee. 30 Notices and Ads In this issue I have shared my experiences of moving house. I hope you enjoy it and would love to hear about your experiences and if anyone wants to provide me with answers to some of the questions that would be great. More interesting articles hopeful- ly.

Enjoy

Dianne Wisteria Penjing Gardens Collection 15 years since creation Unknown age of tree

5 Part Two: Dawid de Villiers, from Dannevirke, shares his experiences with Wisteria. This time Dawid talks us through the process of air lay- ering, a fantastic way of gaining the benefits of the mature plant you are cultivating from.

have recently repotted a nursery bought Wisteria and these are notori- I ous for taking ages to flower. I then started to look at other options to get a Wisteria that will flower sooner. There is a very old Wisteria growing in our garden with the most stunning double purple racemes flowering profusely. Anne Swin- ton’s, The Collingridge Handbook of Bon- sai (1986:120), indicates that air-layering is particularly of use in obtaining good Wisteria Bonsai. As our Wisteria clearly possesses excellent genes, I thought that I would try this method to “clone” the genes and hopefully will be able to bon- sai the new plant.

A suitable “donor” is selected

The container is prepared. It is a ten cm plastic pot and I used scissors to cut one side and through the bottom.

6 also decided to use sphagnum moss as I the growth medium. This was placed in a bucket and water was added to enable the moss to absorb water.

This must be a Kiwi Bonsai enthusiast go- ing by the Red Band gumboots making an appearance in this photo.

The next step is to prepare the area where the new roots must be formed. A sharp knife is used to cut through the cambium and I then removed about three centime- tres of bark and living tissue. Hormone powder is also applied to the cut surface at the top.

he container is wrapped around the T trunk. I also use shade cloth to line the container and left some at the top to cover the sphagnum moss. This is to prevent birds from taking the moss out. I also wrapped some wire around the bot- tom of the pot and also the top with an added piece of wire going over the top to prevent the pot from slipping off. Now it is a waiting game to see what happens.

7 Joy Morton, Otago Bonsai Society, recently visited China to attend the World Bonsai Friendship Federation Convention. Joy had been selected by NZBA to represent New Zealand as one of the world Demonstrators. Here she shares her experiences.

eing selected by the NZBA to demonstrate at the 7th World Bonsai Friendship Federation Convention in Jintan, China, in September I would have to admit to B being a little apprehensive at the thought of going. Wow what an awesome experience to be amongst some of the top demonstrators in the world. There were forty-two demonstrators from twenty two countries of which three were woman.

To watch some of the techniques used in other countries was a tremendous experi- ence. All the demonstrators stayed in the same hotel, we all travelled together on buses and everywhere we went with a police escort. There were ten buses with four hundred and twenty registrants from all over the world always travelling in convoy.

At the same time of the convention there was the 12th Asian Pacific Bonsai and Suiseki Convention and Exhibition. There were really awesome displays of art, callig- raphy, suiseki and bonsai.

A special area had been built and was about one hour’s drive from Jintan up in the mountains. It was in a valley of approximately forty acres and a really beautiful area. They had been building there for two years, and possibly needed another six months to finish.

8 fter the opening ceremony and being A introduced to all the Directors and dig- nitaries, all the performers were introduced [not called demonstrators] by name and country to the public. Afterwards we chose the trees we wanted to work with and then we had the opportunity to look around at the most awesome Bonsai Exhibition I have ever seen [these trees aren’t in books]. Wow, what a mind boggling experience.

That night we attended the banquet, more speeches, and a very nice meal.

The next day was our big day. Gathering up my tools [which I had to bring with me] we got onto the buses and away we went, feel- ing nervous. Twenty-one performers start- ed at 9:00 am, finishing at 12:00. Then B group started at one o’clock. Grant Bowie, Tony Bebb, then myself were all next to each other in the first three outside cano- pies [at least we could talk English and un- derstand each other]. They had quite a few supporters from Australia, so Col and I were included in their activities. We had no sup- porters. As soon as I started my nerves disappeared and I got on with the job. I was pleased with the results of my labours. Master Hu complimented me on my performance. He was one of the organisers of the WBFF convention. Master Hu had been a guest demonstrator at the Wellington convention a number of years ago.

f interest to me was O that I possibly had my photo taken many hun- dreds of times. It took me a while to realise this was because of my white hair - this was causing the fuss. At times when I was demonstrating people were jumping up on the staging area to get their photo tak- en with me. This would also happen if I sat or walked anywhere as well. I was even signing auto- graphs.

9 n the Friday there was a bus trip to a couple of Temples. One temple had 198 O steps up to the top so we decided to sit down at the bottom and enjoyed talking to two lovely Aussies. Next temple we were treated to a display of Tai Chi and a con- cert of Chinese music. That afternoon was a visit to the Jintan Museum then onto another cultural museum.

It was then back to the hotel to change and then another bus ride to Runao Hotel for the Closing and Award Ceremony, followed by a party. This year they had decided to have a change in the awards and every performer was given a trophy and certificate. It was a great thrill for me to stand and look at the New Zealand flag flying at the International Square at the venue. To stand on the stage as the first New Zealander to participate in a WBFF convention and receive an award and certificate for being a performer will be one of the highlights of my life.

o start with we did have a T few problems with commu- nication with the organisers, and sometimes the lack of re- ply’s to email caused a bit of frustration, but when we arrived the car was waiting at the air- port and the hospitality was excellent. I give full marks to the organisers, if there was a problem it was fixed within minutes.

It was a really extraordinary experience which I hope other New Zealanders will get the opportunity of doing some time in the future. The next WBFF Convention is four years away in Japan.

10 After the recent BCI Convention in China there was a Post Convention Tour. Marion and Brian Ellis, Otago Bonsai Society, share with us their highlights.

Above: Yangtze river bridge

Right: Nanjing City Wall

ollowing the Convention in Yangzhou fifty six people, including eight kiwis, F joined the BCI organised tour of South East China. From Yangzhou our first stop was Nanjing, famous for its city wall, the longest in the world built in the 14th century (Ming dynasty) and its bridge over the Yangtze River.

The next day we travelled south for our two day trip to the Huangshan Mountains. For us it was the prime reason for under- taking the tour as it was an area of China we had always wanted to see.

Geographically the mountains rose from an ancient sea about 100 million years ago. The peaks are 1,800 metres high and be- came a UNESCO World heritage site in 1990. The name is commonly thought to have been in honour of Huang Di (the Yellow Emperor) a legendary Chinese Emper- or and the mythological ancestor of the Han Chinese. The mountains are frequently the subject of Chinese painting and literature.

11 ur hotel was near the mountain top which required a 20 minute cable car ride O followed by a walk up and down steps for about 45 minutes. It was wet with low cloud so we did not see much that first day.

Left: The cable car

Below: Trees through the mist

he next day the weather cleared T to let us see the mountains and in particular look down on the “sea of clouds”.

Below: Sea of clouds Below right: Sea of Clouds and Stone Monkey peak

12 e walked around the moun- W tains along some of the 50km length of footpaths, quite scary in several places, to view some of the famous peaks.

Above; The pathway

Left: One of the many peaks

he next day we arose T early to see the sun- rise and walk around more of the peaks. Finally de- scending to the cable car and a return to our bus for the next part of the tour.

13 uangshan pines (Pinus H hwangshanensis) typical- ly grow at moderate to high altitudes on steep, rocky crags, reaching 15–25 metres in height, with a very broad, flat- topped crown of long, level branches. It is closely related to Japanese black pine differ- ing from it in slenderer leaves, brown (not white) buds and broader cones. Many speci- mens are venerated for their unique rugged shapes, and are frequently portrayed in tradi- tional Chinese paintings.

On leaving the mountains we next went to Hongcun founded in 1131 by a Han Dynasty gen- eral as a refuge from warlords. As well as being a tourist area there are 150 homes, many still occupied. The town is famous as the location used by Ang Lee in the film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

14 uring the tour we visited other penjing displays notably the Bao Family garden, D originally a private garden built during the Qing dynasty and now the biggest private garden in China covering an area of 1,000 hectares with 10,000 penjing and Tiger Hill, a popular tourist destination. It is so named because the hill is said to look like a crouching tiger. An alternative legend states that a white tiger appeared on the hill to guard it following the burial of King Helu. The penjing collection at Tiger Hill contained a 400 year old Sageretia theezans, a bush commonly used for penjing in China. This penjing is trimmed about every 2-3 years and from the picture below is due for some attention soon.

he tour travelled to Hangzhou, to T see the Impressions West lake show, directed by Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou who directed the Opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics and then Suzhou to see the Master of Nets Garden. This was of particular interest to us as the Dunedin Chinese garden de- sign is based on this world heritage gar- den. On the way we also went to the Longjing tea plantation, a silk factory in Jiangnan, a rock market and finally to Shanghai where the tour ended.

Right: 400 year old Sageretia theezans at Tiger Hill

15 The rock market near Shanghai

t was a most interesting tour with days full of a variety of places of interest, not all I of which we have described in this article. The tour party were very friendly and at times entertaining. The tour included a number of penjing collections and garden vis- its which were of particular interest to us bonsai enthusiasts. Looking at the map, while we travelled some considerable distance, we have only seen a very small part of China. It is the first time we joined, not without some trepidation, an organised tour such as this and thoroughly enjoyed it; so much so that we would consider another BCI tour to somewhere else on our bucket list.

16 ne of the biggest challenges for all O serious bonsai growers is when life presents you with a change of direction or circumstance and you and your bonsai have to relocate. Suddenly the joys of your bonsai garden bring a number of questions. This issue of shifting poses a serious number of questions. In my case I had to relocate in a hurry leaving a well loved collection of trees in the capable hands of my partner but, yes there is al- ways a but, even the most trusted of part- ners can still leave doubt in your mind about those very special trees. Again my new situation presented a number of difficulties, living five hours away, being in transit or temporary accommodation and not having a permanent place to live. So what is your plan should your circumstances change? Who waters your trees when you are away? Would they adjust to a new environment? How can you move your bonsai around? And that one big question: How many trees do you have so that you can manage?

Being prepared and having a plan makes emergencies easier. In my situation hav- ing an on going transit situation became a nightmare. Basically I lost control of my collection. I could not water, maintain, inspect or admire it. How would you feel if this happened to you? How important is your collection to you?

Eventually my situation settled and I was able to select about ten trees and have them with me (below). What ten trees would you choose? It was amazing to get some of my bonsai back. That routine of watering them every morning, casting your eye over them, spotting the changes, removing the odd weed that springs up in the soil, stopping those annoying weeds that take hold in between the roots by the trunk before they take over. Oh it was bliss. Saturday morning cranking up the stereo, laying out your tools, swirling your tree around on the turn table while you snip here and there. Memories. Then disaster strikes again! Gosh that long loved bonsai just doesn’t look so happy anymore. What is the issue? You’ve had it for twenty years? Is it climate change? Water change? Yes my trees had always had tank water now they were being sprayed with toxic tap water and they didn’t like it. Then I had to move again.

Moving bonsai, depending on their size is not as simple as popping them into the back of the car and driving. First off most of my trees do not fit in the back of a car! Or boot. Do you have a trailer? Wind- swept trees need to be by design. How are you going to prevent wind damage?

17 o you have a friend who owns a van or maybe a truck? How do you stop them D moving around when you make a sudden stop or spin around that corner? So as you can see there are a number of questions and a number of answers. Finding the right solution is up to you.

I guess you’re interested in how I managed this and what was the outcome. Tears and lots of emotion and make sure your finger nails are long. All smaller bonsai were moved in the car. Some were moved one by one over a long period of time. I fortu- nately had lots of that. The down side being I had to do this three times. The larger trees were another matter. A cage on the back of the trailer, a large truck and a babysitter. Without the help of friends I would not have managed half of it. Our col- lection moved one by one or five by five until the end. The end being over a year. They were carefully placed on the ground, so that they did not touch each other and had enough room to grow, this also made watering easier. You could make sure each tree got what it needed. Downside it was difficult to walk amongst them for weeding and the odd pinch or prune.

Once we found our new home the move was on again. This move was going to prove interesting as usually you have to do this in a day, the day the house settles. Ask and you will receive. Fortunately the current owners of the house let me bring over trees before the settlement. Every night for three weeks after work I had to load up and travel to the new house (half an hour drive) unload, water and return. By the time shift day arrived I was already dead!

After this experience both Noel and I were incapable of doing anything for about a month. Oh I forgot, the day after we actually moved in Noel had to hire a truck and drive five hours down to Hamilton get all our furniture out of storage, collect a few more trees (thank you Peter) and then drive back again so we could actually sit on something. Learn from this - when you are in a new town make sure you befriend some men. Our three furniture and bonsai movers were women, girl power.

The next challenge of course is restoring your trees to their normal health after much adjustment. Remember they have had to deal with movement, damage to their branches and movement of soil in their container, climate change, different water, and for my trees this was constant. I had also been unable to do regular mainte- nance, repotting, pruning, feed- ing, the list here is endless. We now had the task of restoring our collection. At one time they were all lined up sitting on a sheet of plastic on the grass hopefully out of the wind and too much sun. Winterless north you see. Their owners exhausted and spring upon us.

18 his drove a few points home. We all say this T but do we listen to our own advice. How many trees is enough? If this happened to you what could you manage? We sat down and much to Noel’s horror and my management ex- pertise drew up a development plan.

Work began and wow what I felt was a disaster turned into an opportunity of a lifetime. Each tree had to be attended to, so proprieties were set. Which trees needed this the most (which ones will die)? Which ones will just have to wait? Of course you then run into the usual problems of soil mixes, not having gravel, moss and for us, a shed to set yourself up in. I fell in love with the house, but it did not come with a shed. Then what do you do with them, I did not have a bonsai display area just an extensive garden.

The picture below shows the area where we de- cided to place the trees. More work, it had to be completely cleared. All our stands placed back in, painted and the ground recovered. So how do you think we’ve done. Work is still in progress. Am I going to move again soon, well what do you think? How many trees are up for sale? Well we are thinking about it. How many bonsai bit the dust? Now that would be telling, Honestly— none. We did lose some of our ground stock and a few trees did get a restyle due to dead branches. The bonus though is it has given us an opportunity to rethink every tree in our collection. How often do you do that?

Dianne and Noel’s new garden—Penjing Gardens 19 ime passes and changes happen and so do our bonsai. All bonsai growers will have been encouraged at some point to photograph their trees and / or T keep a record of their development. Do you keep club records? There are many rewards from doing this. How often have you felt that your bonsai are getting nowhere? Wouldn’t it be nice to look back on previous display tables, activities that your club has held and best of all view trees from an exhibition you held ten years ago and then look at them now.

When you have been in this game for a number of years it can be amazing to go back and look at old photos of your trees.

Below are ‘now and then’ photos of the Kokufu Bonsai Show 1934 and 2013.

If anyone has some to share it would be great to start a regular page, I look forward to receiving some inspiration.

Many thanks to Ann Mudie, Hamilton Bonsai Club for sharing this idea and photographs

20 21 This year we had our grand old man of bonsai, Noel Plowman, come down from the far north to judge the trees in the annual exhibition. Below are the winners of the Merit Certificates and Noel’s comments.

Black Pine (Pinus thunbergii) Picked ‘cos there are no other literati’ – We need more literati in the show in future. Good example of black pine. Needs a smaller pot, tilt it forwards a bit.

Himalayan cedar (Cedrus deodara) Needs bringing in at sides (shortened), very nice tree (Noel wanted to take it home).

Trident maple (Acer buergerianum) Move trunk 2.5 – 4 cm to the right. Add one or two more rocks (landscaping).

Trident maple (Acer buegerianum) Needs lowering in pot. Noel would like to remove lower branch in front and separate into levels (not pom-pom). This will be a show tree for a long time, mainly due to the nebari. Possibly a blue oval pot in the future. 22 Natal Fig (Ficus natalensis) Pot is totally wrong - “round or oval pot” A lot of potential.

Hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa) Noel would like to take off the lower branch and jin it, then move the front branch down a bit; also move to the right by several centimetres (6- 8). Extend the shari down a bit. Another show- piece for years.

Cotoneaster (Cotoneaster) ‘Front’ is facing the (R) front corner of the pot. Needs an oval or round pot - “a really nice tree”.

Firethorn (Pyracantha) Potential to be a nice tree. Noel would take off the branch to the right, (Marshall had already decided to do this), and then he would move the top branch down and to the right, creating a shorter extension. Probably to go in an oval pot.

23 Chinese hackberry (Celtis sinensis) Needs taking back a bit; pot needs to be shallower. Noel likes the calcined clay but doesn’t particularly like the “little powder puffs”.

Coprosma (Coprosma repens) Needs an oval pot (even if kept in as-deep-a-pot). Have done a real- ly nice job with this tree.

24 Combined Otago and South Canterbury meeting

On Saturday 9 November eight members of the Otago Bonsai Society travelled to Timaru for a combined meeting with South Canterbury Bonsai Society. Everyone took along an exhibition tree and trees for a workshop. Once the exhibition was set up people started work on their trees, sharing their ideas on development, guided by Joy Morton. Following lunch Joy provided a critique of the exhibition trees which enabled the owners to consider how they could be further improved. At the end of the day there was a visit to two of the South Canterbury members’ collections. It was a long day but interesting and rewarding as seeing trees and working with members from another club provided a new perspective for everyone.

Exhibition

The Otago Bonsai Society Exhibition Community Gallery Princes Street Dunedin 3 to10 December

25 ew Plymouth Bonsai Club is alive and in good heart at present but with lower N numbers than previously.

In June Adriaan and Poppie Englebrecht spent a weekend as our guests. We always benefit from their expertise and now that it’s Spring we can see the fruits of their ef- forts. Cedar Lodge Nursery was our repotting venue – most of us seem to acquire another tree or two even though we don’t intend to, just can’t help ourselves. Since then we’ve had talks from our own members on aerial layering, and pinching for di- rection. Ladies Night at the local Mitre 10 Mega brought forth lots of public interest in our display and questions to be answered.

For the last three months we’ve tried a different table arrangement on Club Days. We’ve moved the worktables into a block, sitting around the outside. There’s lots more sharing of ideas and banter goes on. As one member said last month “That’s the most fun bonsai day I’ve ever had”. Worth a try!

26 Monthly display winners

27 Nzba Proudly brings you the new Zealand national Convention

Cambridge 2 — 4 may 2014

. The headline speaker is one of our old friends from across the ditch Tony Bebb . demonstrations by New Zealand artists . Second National Show—first time in North Island. . This will feature some of the top trees from around the country . Competitions: the National Suiseki and the Joy Morton Photographic Competition (have you entered yet?) . Friday—the Emerging Talent competition . Monday May 5th workshops with Tony Bebb . More details can be found on the Convention website— talk to you local club or contact one of the NZBA committee

www.bonsaiconvention.net.nz

28 A t the 2014 NZBA convention there will be an election for some posi- tions on the NZBA Committee, including that of the secretary. Have you considered standing for one of these positions? Do you know what the committee does? Since the Committee was established in 2002 its achievements have included:-

Establishing a National Demonstrators list Travel grant Emerging talent competition National Show Awards and certificates – Outstanding Bonsai, Distinction, Colin Churchill and Alan Van Support, promotion and organisation of suiseki and photographic competition Video Library Website Bonsai Times Magazine Appointment of a Patron Revision of Rules to meet changing circumstances (twice) Review of Liability insurance Liaison with overseas bonsai organisations Survey of members and clubs Conventions – support for host clubs, organisation of 2014 convention Selection of demonstrator for WBFF convention Support for individual clubs

While there is a certain amount of work involved it is not onerous and provides an opportunity to contribute to the on-going development of NZBA and bonsai in New Zealand. Personally I have found the experience enjoyable and rewarding.

Dianne is also looking for someone to help her with or take over the role of editing the Bonsai Times. This is an important position as Bonsai Times is our key commu- nication with and a forum for members. It has been recognised internationally as a national magazine of note.

If you want any further information on how you can help then please contact any committee member.

Brian Ellis Secretary

29 30 31 New Members Please encourage your club members or any fellow enthusiasts to join NZBA. Their subscriptions not only go towards the production on this magazine they also help with the development of bonsai within New Zealand.

May great things grow from this small beginning

WANTING TO MAKE A CONTRIBUTION TO THE NEW ZEALAND BONSAI SCENE Then subscribe now…...

Bonsai Times is the bonsai magazine for everyone. Covering club news, up to date reviews and information about coming events. 36 pages of pure bonsai pleasure.

Annual subscription 4 issues Black and White: $20 COLOUR $45 Overseas subscribers add $10 per year for postage.

Cheques payable to NZBA Post to: 47 Orchard Road R D 2 Kerikeri

Online: 030239-0025146-00 (Westpac) Reference: Your name and club.

Advise the Treasurer of your payment please as we are not online for internet banking and statements only arrive monthly

32 TITLE DESCRIPTION FEATURES Rating Bonsai at his home John Naka 4

Finding the Bonsai Working with difficult trees. Andy Smith Within Ponderosa Pine Wiring 7 98 minutes Techniques Japanese-Style Garden. D Slawson & In Full Circle Design and Implementation P Krause

NZBA National Con- The demonstrations, speakers vention Napier 2008 and exhibition trees

NZBA National Con- The demonstrations, speakers vention Christchurch and exhibition trees 2009 NZBA National Con- The demonstrations, speakers Robert Steven vention Hamilton and exhibition trees 2010 Juniper Forest John Naka Demonstration 6 111-Tree Florida Elm John Naka Demo 5 39 Tree Stewartia Saburo Kato Demonstration 6

Two Shimapaku Includes Rock Plantings Yuji Yoshimura Plantings 6

US National Bonsai Comments on trees viewed & Penjing Museum one by one 7

Demonstration Accent Plants Keiko Yamane 6 Newstead 2 UK selection display for the John Hanbys Bonsai Ginkgo Exhibition Newstead 7 Extravaganza 2006 Bonsai

HIRE RULES  DVDs are available at $10 per month each  Alternatively you can hire 2 DVD’s at $15 per month  To hire you or your club/society has to be a member of NZBA  Forward postage by NZBA  Return postage to NZBA payable by the hirer.  To arrange the hire of a DVD contact Les Simpson: [email protected] BONSAI NEW ZEALAND LTD

Milan and Angela of Bonsai New Zealand Limited wish to thank all our loyal customers and friends and advise we have sold the business to:

Grant and Tracey Wykes Hanami Gardens 178 Onetai Road Hikutaia Paeroa 07 862 4665 [email protected]

We wish you all well and successful bonsai in the future

FREELANCE TEACHER / DEMONSTRATOR OF ALL ASPECTS OF BONSAI.

- BEGINNERS TO ADVANCED -

Over 40yrs experience in Agriculture , Horticulture and Bonsai .

New Zealand’s No 1 Private Bonsai Garden Bus tours and private visits by appointment.

Robert (Bob) Langholm QSM 41 Taumata Rd, Mt Albert. Auckland. Phone and fax…..( 09 ) 6293662 or 027 286 3321 E-mail….. [email protected]

34 BONSAI TOOLS

Stainless Steel

Concave Cutters – large & small Knob Cutters – Root Pruners – Root Splitters SCISSORS $20 BRANCH CUTTERS $35 ALL $65 WIRE CUTTERS $35 Contact Lindsay Muirhead Penjing Gardens 47 Orchard Road, RD 2 [email protected] KERIKERI Email: [email protected] 09 4016226 021 245 8800

35

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